Thorbjorn Olesen aiming to do pal Thomas Bjorn a favour by making Europe Ryder Cup team on merit

The pair are usually inseparable on Tour, but Olesen revealed that recent communication has been limited, particularly in regard to Le Golf National and the chances of him making his debut.

“Over the last three months or so we haven’t really spoken about it,” he said. “We have to try and keep that aside. Of course, it has been a dream to play a Ryder Cup and it would make it that much more special to play with Thomas as captain.

“I feel like I have done a lot over the last couple of months, but I need to do a bit more over the next few weeks.”

To this end, Olesen has added the Nordea Masters, which begins in Gothenburg on Thursday, to his schedule and he will then take a week’s rest before playing in the Made In Denmark Championship, which is the concluding event in Europe’s qualifying race.

It is estimated that Olesen requires a top-three finish in one of these events and he is feeling positive after finishing with a 68 for a one-under total at the USPGA Championship at Bellerive, St Louis yesterday.

“Yesterday I felt terrible, I just didn’t have the energy or mental strength,” he said. “But today I felt good again.”